Dawn of A New Era
by Arch Mage of Dragons
Summary: Eragon and his companions find a new land in which to restore the Dragon Riders. However, this new land has many unique challenges in store for them. If they are to accomplish their task, they must survive and thrive in this new, fierce, untamed land.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Plans**

Eragon opened his eyes to the sight of sunlight streaming through the opening of his tent. He stretched wearily, then got out of bed, bathed, and clothed himself before heading to the center of the camp for breakfast. "Morning, Saphira." He called as he helped himself to half a dozen pieces of bacon, two servings of scrambled eggs, a biscuit, and some dried fruit, all washed down with cold milk.

As he sat there eating his breakfast, Blodhgarm approached him. Blodhgarm greeted him in the traditional way of the elves and Eragon responded appropriately. "Sleep well, Shadeslayer?" he inquired. "Yes, thank you. And you?" "I slept well." "Well," Eragon said with a groan as he pushed himself off the ground, "are you ready to get started on the new city?" "Yes, Shadeslayer. However, Arya Drottning has contacted us and wants to speak with you. I will gather the rest of the elves and meet you back here." "Thank you, Blodhgarm." Eragon ascended the hill where the council tent and scrying mirrors were kept.

Once inside, he saw Arya staring at him from the rather large, ornate mirror in the shape of an oval. Eragon immediately greeted her in the proper way; she responded likewise before inquiring of his well being. To which he responded, "I am well. And how are you, Arya?" "Well, thank you." "Blodhgarm informed me that you wanted to speak with me. I assume your purpose was not to exchange pleasantries and oblige in idle conversation?" "No, I contacted you to inform yourself and the other elves present, that the two eggs you left behind have hatched. I also wanted to inquire about the possibility of them staying in Ellesmera for some basic magic, mental, and combat training before we send them to you. Would that be possible?" "That's good that they have hatched. I also think that it is a good idea for them to train in Ellesmera for a time. I will see what Blodhgarm thinks about it." So saying, he quickly contacted Blodhgarm and informed him of the new riders and inquired of his opinion about Arya's idea. "Blodhgarm says he thinks it is a good idea and thinks they should train in Ellesmera for 5 years before leave for this new land." "Alright, that sounds good."

Eragon quickly made his way back down to the center of their camp, where the 29 elves were gathered. He motioned for Blodhgarm to inform them of the plan for the training of the Dragon Riders and he did so, then turning to Eragon for information on the city they were to build. Eragon stepped up, saying, "Alright, we need to find a very defensible position for our capital city. We need to look for a place where we can set up a massive city. This place also needs to be easily defendable and near areas with an abundance of resources. I propose that we split up into teams of two to scout the land. We will take enough food for a week; food for the rest of this time will be hunted or gathered. Are there any questions, objections, or better ideas?" he inquired while glancing around. "Alright, well it's settled then. Blodhgarm, you're with me. The rest of you pair off as you wish. We will start in one half-hour and will meet back here in one month. I need you to mark all the possible city sites you find. Mark them with these flags. Mark red if you think it would be a good spot for the capital, blue for a trade capital, white for a major, influential city, brown for villages, and black for fortresses," Eragon proclaimed, handing the flags around.

Eragon briskly strode back to his tent. He grabbed Brisingr, Niernen, Saphira's saddle, and his saddlebags, which held a week's worth of food and clothes, before going to meet Saphira. He fastened Saphira's saddle about her, then strapped the saddle bags on. "Come on, let's go get Blodhgarm." Eragon said as he climbed onto Saphira's saddle. Without a word, Saphira leapt into the air, tearing chunks of earth from the ground. They found Blodhgarm's tent and Saphira dove to the ground pulling up at the last moment. Eragon was rocked forward by the impact, despite his hold on the spike protruding from her neck. "Blodhgarm, are you ready to go?" Eragon called from atop Saphira's back. "Yes," he said simply before climbing onto Saphira. Eragon contacted all of the elves and notified them that it was time to go, doing his best to remember who had gone in what groups and in what direction before he let Saphira know he was ready to go. Once again, she leaped into the air without a word.

After they had been searching for about 7 hours and the sun was beginning to set, Blodhgarm pointed out an excellent spot for a city. The spot was a large depression in the top of a small mountain that stood alone. The mountain was very steep and would be difficult to reach without the aid of magic or a dragon. It was encircled by a deep, wide river that had a swift current and was teeming with fish. This river ran down from the mountains to the north and continued south as far as the eye could see, even from a dragon's back. Around the river, there was plain for many miles without interruption. There was also land in between the river and the mountain. Inside this small amount of land, there were many, many trees; deer, rabbits, and other such creatures were plentiful in this area. All in all, it was a very defensible area and was abundant in food resources, if nothing else. However, Eragon was not satisfied and was determined to find an even better spot to establish the new nation's capital. He knew it was not likely that they would find a better spot to camp for the night, though; so, he told Saphira to land. He stabbed one of the white flags into the center of the clearing, help set up camp, and then explored the site for the city. He figured out that the depression was about three square miles. After searching for quite some time, he found a way to go up and down the mountain. It was a tunnel that began, in a clearing amidst a few of the larger trees; it then wound its way through the interior of the mountain and came out in another clearing. He also found that there were many animals on top of the mountain as well and he resolved that it would be his capital city if they could not find any better.

They found many possible sites in their travels, but none of them were good enough to be the capital city. They had marked 5 locations with blue flags, 60 with brown flags, 3 with black flags, and 4 with white flags. But no matter how much or how hard they searched, they found nothing that would be a perfect city. As they flew on over the days, they discovered that this new land was even larger than Alagaesia. They doubled the number of spots they had marked, so that there now were: 10 blue flags, 120 brown flags, 6 black flags, and 8 white flags. Still, they could not find the right spot for a city. Then, finally, they came upon it. It was a massive plateau, at least 50 square miles. There was a ring of mountains in the center of the plateau that were even taller than the Beors if they sat upon the plateau. Inside this ring of mountains there was a large forest. Then it turned to desert for a few miles, where it ended there were lush green fields and forests that surrounded an absolutely massive lake with the largest mountain that Eragon, Blodhgarm, or Saphira had ever seen; this mountain jutted out and stretched miles above the surface of the lake.

As with the first city site they had discovered, there was a depression in the top, this one being about 15 square miles. The area was absolutely teeming with all sorts of wildlife, flora, fauna, and just about any living creature you could imagine. There were even four waterfalls, one on each side, pouring from the mountain. Everything was massive. All in all it was the perfect place to raise the new generation of riders, but for one thing. The place was absolutely teeming with fanghur and nidhwal, the latter of which were apparently able to live in lakes as well. The fanghur were much larger than the ones in Alagaesia, the largest being about three feet bigger than Saphira. Their mental attacks were even more powerful and were also more coordinated. These were also much more intelligent than those in Alagaesia. The nidhwal here were, of course, much larger and much more intelligent. They did not, however, seem to hate anything that lived and breathed, as those from Alagaesia did. Rather, their eyes only filled with pure malice and hatred when they lit upon Saphira. Several times they tried to leap out of the water and clamp onto Saphira with their massive jaws. Some of the larger ones, which were about ten feet larger than Saphira, nearly succeeded. However, they only looked at Eragon with disdain when they did not see him with Saphira. Troubled, Eragon directed Saphira to fly back to the outside of the ring of mountains, about 5 miles from the mountain in the center of the lake.

That night, the three of them made a decision. The lush area on the top of the mountain, which they had managed to get a decent glimpse of before they were attacked by the fanghur (who lived on the slopes of the mountain), would be their home if they could find a way around the problems that were the fanghur and the nidhwal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Torment**

Eragon awoke and became aware of the early morning fog. It was dreary and thick. He could not even see Saphira, who he knew lay less than ten paces away. He slowly rose to his feet, looking around warily. This was the dreariest he had seen this new land in all their time traversing it. "Saphira," Eragon called out, first, aloud, then with his mind. He neither heard nor felt a response. He immediately started to worry. "Blodhgarm," he called with his mind and his tongue. Once again, there was no response. Eragon was starting to panic now. He franticly cast his mind about, desperately searching for something, anything he might be familiar with. After he was just about on the verge of giving up the pursuit, he felt Saphira's presence, briefly, but he felt it. It was just enough to kindle hope within him.

He immediately set off after Saphira, running at full speed. Despite the fact that he had inhuman strength and indurance, he was unable to maintain his pace for the necessary distance and soon had to rest to gather his strength before setting off. As soon as he came to a stop, he reached over his shoulder for his pack, thinking he would be grateful to have something to sustain him, even if it only helped marginally. To his dismay, he found nothing and realized he had left it back at their campsite, along with Brisingr and Niernen. 'Well, too late to turn back now,' he concluded. He rested for a moment longer, during which time he fell asleep.

Sometime later, he awoke with a start when he felt a rumble in the ground beneath him. He quickly jumped to his feet and reached for Brisingr. Remembering he had forgotten it, he muttered a curse under his breath and instead began to prepare for a spell. What he saw next shocked him. He dropped his concentration on the spell and stared on in horror as he gazed upon the sight of Saphira chained to a colossal slab of stone, carried by humanistic creatures that were about twenty feet tall and had massive, roughly cut axes of stone slung across their backs.

He quickly came back to himself, despite Saphira's current predicament, and began to take stock of the situation. There were roughly a hundred of these giants surrounding Saphira and each one was nearly as blue as Brisingr. They all looked to be well built, even for a giant, and all seemed to refer to another blue giant, who stood at nearly 30 feet tall and carried an axe, just like all of his colleagues; however, this axe was nearly as big as him and seemed to be covered in runes that glowed a bright blue. Eragon instantly knew that if he was going to save Saphira, he would have to avoid the leader and that ferocious looking axe. Even as he triggered the invisibility spell that was part of his wards, the leader seemed to sniff the air and point in his direction.

Eragon watched their approach with a feeling of resignation, then relief as they stopped short and turned around. He thought they had just missed him by chance, but he soon noticed the strange way in which they were walking, each with an arm flexed as though it were gripping something. Eragon whispered the words in the ancient language that would enhance his ability to hear and found that they were speaking some strange, guttural language that he had never seen before. He quickly discerned that he could not understand this language and was about to cut off the flow of energy to the spell when he heard a familiar voice, that of Blodhgarm's, he realized.

As Eragon watched, the leader waved his strange ax in front of his face and Blodhgarm appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Eragon simply watched in utter dismay and despair. The leader called one of his men over. He was shorter than the rest, and slimmer, but he looked unimaginably cruel, perhaps because of the hunch in his back and the wicked gleam in his eye. The short, hunchbacked giant came over and, appearing very eager, pulled out an irregularly shaped dagger that appeared to be stained with the blood of various other creatures, then started to mumble sinister words and phrases over it. The blade started to glow a searing orange, as a fire poker left in the hearth to long would.

Eragon looked on in despair, knowing there was nothing he could do for Blodhgarm. The leader called to two more of his men, who brought forth a smaller slab of stone and bound Blodhgarm to it using stone chains much like the ones that now held Saphira. The hunchbacked giant shuffled over to the slab and drew the blade across Blodhgarm's arm three quick times. He seemed to wince in pain but then he gritted his teeth and kept silent while the blade was drawn slowly across his body many more times over the course of an hour. Finally, it seemed as though the torture would end when the giant put the blade away and walked back through the crowd of giants.

However, he soon came back with a bag that looked to be made of rough leather with bits of skin and fur still clinging to it. He reached into the bag and withdrew a pair of tongs. He then proceeded to slowly remove each of Blodhgarm's teeth. He tortured Blodhgarm in many different ways throughout the day, ending by severing each of his appendages and mounting the rest of Blodhgarm's body on a pole where he placed it in the ground before the leader. The leader grunted in satisfaction, taking a massive bite out of Blodhgarm's neck, before motioning the rest of the giants to join in. Eragon at once felt a profound feeling of sadness and relief come over him, knowing that Blodhgarm was dead, but that his suffering was now no more.

The leader quickly strode over to Saphira, where he proceeded to place his foot on her neck, drawing his axe back as he did so. The axe started to swiftly descend towards Saphira's neck. "NOOOO!" Eragon screamed in desperation and anguish as the blade was about to be driven home, only to be stopped when the very world around him seemed to fracture and then shatter, bursting apart. He instinctively closed and covered his eyes to protect them.

The world seemed to shake for several minutes before it ceased and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a high-vaulted, dimly lit, underground cavern. He slowly lifted his head and gazed around the room. He now noted that he himself was chained to a stone slab now. He looked around, but neither saw nor heard anything. There was, however, a deep, throaty chuckle that seemed to come from within his own mind and reverberated throughout his skull in a sinister manner. He was too tired to think upon it further and was only just able to comfort himself slightly with the thought that it had all been an illusion. He then passed out to the sound of that deep, throaty, sinister chuckle echoing within his own mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Murtagh tore into the meat immediately after it was done. This was the first real food he had managed to get his hands on for weeks. It was a deer he had hunted and killed earlier that day. Thorn was out hunting for his own food after Murtagh's success. Thorn soon returned, full from his meal, as Murtagh finished his. After they were both finished, Murtagh prepared the remainder of the meet in a way that would keep it fresh. As he was finishing up this task, Thorn spoke up. "Murtagh," he said, "How long are we going to stay away from everybody else?" "As long as it takes," Murtagh responded, "why do you ask?" "I'm tired of being all alone up here; perhaps we should join Eragon and Saphira." Murtagh was silent for several minutes before he responded. "You're right. We've been alone too long. We aren't helping anybody. We need to go." Murtagh felt Thorn's joy at his statement; he allowed himself a small smile, knowing that it was the hope of seeing Saphira which made his dragon so happy.

They left early the next morning, bringing what little they possessed. They headed for Carvahall, knowing that Roran would be able to tell them where to find Eragon and Saphira. They arrived late that night, landing in a large clearing a couple miles from where the town had once stood. From there, Murtagh ran to Carvahall. He arrived at the outskirts of their current camp a short while later and was hailed by the sentries, "Who goes there?" they called. "A traveler seeking Lord Stronghammer," Murtagh called back. Murtagh heard the clang of equipment as one of the sentries took off, presumably to find Eragon's cousin, Roran. A few minutes later the sentry returned with Roran." "It is Murtagh, cousin." At this those within earshot gasped and Roran's eyes narrowed. "You know you are not welcome here, cousin. It would be best for all if you were to leave," Roran called back. "Perhaps, but there are a few things I need to know before I take my leave." With a sigh, Roran motioned for Murtagh to follow him.

Murtagh looked around with some interest as he saw that everything was very organized; he thought that it must have been a result of Roran's time with the Varden. They soon arrived at what Murtagh assumed was the command tent, as it had no personal items. Roran sat down on one side of the table, motioning for Murtagh to do the same. "Why are you here, Murtagh? You know you will find no friends here." "True, but I need to find Eragon and I assumed you could tell me where he is." Roran's gaze seemed to darken as he responded, "He is gone. He left Alagaesia." Murtagh was shocked but still determined to join Eragon. "Which way did he go?" "East, he went east. He left all of Alagaesia behind three and thirty days ago." "I will leave your lands to join Eragon tomorrow." "You will never make it on your own. Eragon told me it took them a month to reach their current land and that the weather was terrible, Saphira had to stay on the ship throughout most of the journey." Murtagh swore silently to himself before making up his mind. "Then I may have to stay longer than you would like. I will stay in the Spine." With that, he left what used to be Carvahall and met up with Thorn. "They have left Alagaesia, Thorn." He noted Thorn's shock and continued, "We will stay in the Spine while I gather enough energy to get us there safely. They reached the Spine later that evening, settling down in a large clearing high up in the mountains. Upon landing, Murtagh began to set up camp then he ate dinner. After dinner, he and Thorn began storing as much energy within the jewel in Zarroc as they could without leaving themselves defenseless. They continued in this way for weeks before Murtagh thought they were getting close to having enough energy. As Murtagh lay down to bed one night, he heard a voice. "Murtagh," it seemed to call over and over. He tried to ignore it, thinking he had expended too much energy and was hearing things. Eventually though, he felt a pull along with it. After a while longer, it was too much for him to bear and he began to follow the pull. For hours, he followed the voice and the pull, until it suddenly seemed to stop. He began frantically searching through the surrounding brush, desperately trying to find what had led him here. Before too long, he found a small tunnel, just large enough for him to crawl through. He would have thought nothing of it but for the fact that it was perfectly formed. The tunnel was certainly not natural, of that he was certain. He was wary of entering the tunnel without help; there was a chance he might not be able to handle it alone. Thorn couldn't help him though, he would never fit. He silently wished that Eragon were there; he would know how to handle the situation and would be a big help if he encountered an enemy.

He sat there for a while, thinking about what to do. Suddenly, it came to him. He would get Roran to help him. He glanced up at the sky, wondering what time it was. Much to his relief, it was still late in the night as the moon was almost directly overhead. He set off at a dead sprint to fetch Roran. Sometime in the next half hour, he reached Roran's camp. Silently, he slipped past the sentries and from there found Roran's tent, after a few tries. He nudged Roran's mind with his own. After a couple minutes of this, Roran started to groan loudly. Murtagh clamped his hand over Roran's mouth, ensuring that he would not wake anyone else. Roran's snapped open and a dagger was suddenly being driven towards him with force. He barely managed to dodge the attack. "Roran, it's me, Murtagh. I need your help with something." Roran slightly lowered the dagger, but he still looked wary. "What is it?" "I can't explain, but something led me to a tunnel. I may need help if there are enemies within." "Why not have Thorn go with you?" "The tunnel is too small." "Alright, I'll go, but why the secrecy?" "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I'm sane." With that, he left the tent with Roran quickly pulling on clothes and weapons before jogging to catch up with him. They reached the tunnel about an hour later (Murtagh had to slow the pace for Roran). "Where's this tunnel you were talking about?" Roran asked once he had caught his breath. "Come on." Murtagh walked over to the tunnel and turned back to Roran, "Be prepared for anything," he said. With that, Murtagh entered the tunnel, leaving Roran to follow. The tunnel was long and did not seem to open up for quite some time, but they persisted. Just when Murtagh was starting to think they would never find the end, the tunnel opened up into a vast cavern. It was dim and they couldn't see anything clearly, so Murtagh summoned a light. What they saw made them gasp in shock.

There were thousands of what Murtagh knew to be Eldunari and about two hundred of what they both knew to be eggs. "Welcome," a deep voice projected inside of their heads. "What is this place?" "This is the treasure vault of the wild dragons and my name is Belgabad." At this, Murtagh's jaw dropped. He knew exactly who Belgabad was. "But, I thought you perished on Vroengard." "I did. My eldunari was hidden here beforehand, along with the rest of the dragon eldunari that had not been hidden by Umaroth. I show you these now so that you may take them with you. We do not wish for Alagaesia to ever fall into war like it did beforehand. 150 of the eggs you see before you will hatch for riders, the others are wild. We wanted to ensure that the dragon riders would continue. They kept the peace well for a long time before they fell. Go meet your cousin in the land across the sea. Help raise the new order of Riders, both of you." "Me? But I'm not a rider, and my home is in Alagaesia," Roran burst out. "Not yet, but I do believe there is an egg in here that will hatch for you. And you're home is wherever your friends and family are, which is why you two must bring the citizens of Carvahall with you and gather your other cousins." "What other cousins?" Murtagh questioned. "It is not important. I will guide you to them when it is time. For now, Roran must find his dragon and ready those who would follow him." They did not hear from him after that, so they began searching through the dragon eggs.

Murtagh soon found a way to tell whether they were wild or not, so they divided them up. Then Roran began to test them. After several hours, they were down to three eggs, silver, purple, and yellow. Roran wearily walked up to the silver one and put his hand on it for a few minutes. Nothing happened. So he moved on to the next. He repeated the process for the purple one and, after a few minutes, began to walk over to the yellow one. However, there was a cracking sound as Roran took a step. He immediately whipped his head back in the direction of the egg. There was now a fine web of thin cracks spreading slowly across the surface. Then, the cracking stopped for a minute, before it was suddenly broken and a tiny, purple dragon hopped out of the shell, staring curiously around. Roran looked in wonder at the dragon and stretched out his hand to touch it. The tiny purple dragon leaned forward and touched the tip of its snout to Roran's hand. Murtagh could tell Roran was in pain as the glow from the gedwey ignasia formation vanished. Roran appeared to be cursing under his breath.

Now that Roran had found his dragon, Murtagh was casting about for some way to carry all of the eldunari and eggs. "Belgabad, how are we supposed to carry all of this?" Murtagh shouted into the silence of the vast cavern. Even as he said it, the workings of a spell were put in his head. He nodded to himself and then began to perform the spell. As he did so, everything (except for Murtagh, Roran, and the new dragon) was sucked into the space he had created to float behind him. They crawled back through the tunnel, Roran guiding his dragon throughout. When they emerged, Murtagh released the light he had summoned and called to Thorn. A short time later, he swooped down out of the sky and landed with a heavy thud that shook the ground.

It was obvious to Murtagh that Thorn was very excited. A short time passed before Thorn spoke to him. "He is very clever and bold. What's his name?" "I'm not sure." Murtagh relayed Thorn's question to Roran, whereupon Roran seemed to confer with his dragon. "His name is Altan." Murtagh nodded his assent. "Alright, let's find Altan some food, then. I'm sure he's hungry." Murtagh had to conceal a grin as he heard what sounded like a growl come from what he presumed was Altan's stomach.

They took him back to their campsite while they discussed their new plans. "The first thing we need to do is get you a rider sword. That way, you can be trained more efficiently. We will go to Ellesmera. Eragon has told me that the elven smith Rhunon has enough brightsteel left to make 5 or 6 rider swords. From there, Belgabad will tell us where we need to go."

"What about the people of Carvahall?" Roran queried. "We will come back for them once we have all of our newfound cousins." "Alright, but I have to tell Horst where we're going. And I need to say goodbye to Katrina." "Go, then. We must not waste time."

Roran returned about an hour later. As he came into the camp with all his travel things, Murtagh tossed him a stick. "We need to get started with your training. While we do not have the best equipment for such a thing, we cannot waste time. So, your training begins now." Roran nodded his head in assent. "Now, I know you have had some experience with a sword, but that will pale in comparison to this. Your swordsmanship must be up to the standard of a master. I cannot teach you everything you need to know about this. Eragon will complete your training. They fought for an hour or so. Murtagh beat him quickly every time despite Roran's best efforts. "Your swordsmanship is shoddy at best right now, but I believe you will get much better. For now though, it is time to rest up. We've got a long way to go tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

They had resumed their travels the next day, occasionally encountering one of the few nobles who remained loyal to Galbatorix. Throughout their journey, Murtagh continued to spar with Roran using the roughly shaped practice swords; he also began to teach him magic. Roran was a quick learner when it came to their sparring sessions, though Murtagh always beat him easily. However, he encountered a bit of difficulty in his attempts to teach Roran the Ancient Language. He could remember the words, could pronounce them correctly, could even use them to get the desired effect; however, he was near hopeless when it came to reading them. It turned out that Roran could not read or write and so, Murtagh had to teach him both of these essential skills. By the time they reached the first elven city, Roran could read quite well and Murtagh began to teach him more of the ancient language, making him compile a list of all the words of the Ancient Language he learned. Once they reached Ellesmera, Roran could hold his own against any but the best of swordsmen, the exception being elves and riders. He could also control his magic nearly as well as Eragon had been able to at this point of his experience with magic (Murtagh and Roran do not know this.); he could also read simple elven passages and write basic sentences. Everything considered, Roran was turning out to be a very good student.

"What do you mean you can't make him a sword? You have plenty of brightsteel ; you've forged hundreds of Rider swords. Why can't you make one more?" he demanded. Murtagh was irate; Rhunon had refused to make Roran a sword and he couldn't see why. "Because, I swore I would not make another. I only made one for Eragon because of the situation, and even then I controlled him; I didn't use my own hands to make it." "Well then, why not do that again? Would that not be the best way for him to get his sword, to make one himself?" "You riders are more trouble than you're worth. I tell you what. I will forge him a sword, if you will take the remaining brightsteel and my memories of forging all of the swords, weapons, and armor I have ever made and leave Alagaesia. Go join Eragon; give him the memories. Forge your own swords; never return. All of Alagaesia is better off without the dragon riders." Murtagh was stung by her words, yet he knew they were true. It would be better if the dragon riders and, indeed, magic all together, left Alagaesia. Nodding in silent assent, he turned around, walking slowly back to the tree-house they were staying in.

A week later they left Ellesmera with copies of every document in the library of every elven city. As they rode out of the city on horses the elves had given them, Belgabad spoke to them, "The first of your cousins is in Ceunon. His name is Toldor. He is the son of Hargal, brother of Garrow." "Wait," Roran tried to call out to Belgabad, to ask about this new cousin, but Belgabad had already retreated inside the confines of his own mind. "What do you suppose he'll be like Murtagh?" Roran queried. "I don't know. I suppose we'll find out when we get there," he said. And with that he urged his horse to a faster pace, distancing himself from Roran.

After several more weeks of travel, in which Roran improved even more drastically in their spars (which they now used their blunted swords for) and in his ability with magic and the ancient language, they arrived in Ceunon. They approached one of the villagers and inquired as to where they might find the local butcher. They were pointed in the right direction and soon reached their destination. "Excuse me, sir," Roran said after they had finished purchasing some dried meat for their provisions, "but we are looking for a distant cousin of mine. His name is Toldor. Do you know where we might find him?" "Yes, he lives about 5 miles southwest of town, next to the river. I can have someone show you if you like," replied the butcher, a young cheery fellow with curly red hair and a short, stocky build. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. We'll manage," Roran replied noting that the butcher already had plenty of work to do.

They walked their horses at a slow, relaxing pace on their way to what they assumed was a farm. They arrived an hour or two later, just as the sun was starting to set. Approaching the farm, they found that there was a boy about 19 years of age working in the fields. It was spring and planting time; there was much work to be done. He seemed to finish his work as they rode over to the edge of the field where the boy met them. "Can I help you?" he asked. "Yes, we are looking for someone named Toldor. We were told he lives here," Murtagh answered. The boy's eyes appeared to narrow in suspicion upon hearing the name. "And why might you be looking for him, if I may ask?" "We recently found out that he is a cousin of ours. We wished to meet him, if that is possible." "Well, look no further. I am Toldor. It's nice to meet some new family. My father should be getting back from Ceunon any time now if you would care to dine with us." "Yes, thank you. Is there any place where we can wash up? My companion and I have traveled quite a distance." "Oh, yes, of course, here, follow me," Toldor replied, leading them into the house.

Toldor led them to a room where they sat in wait until he brought them a large bowl full of water, whereupon they thanked him before washing their hands and faces. Once they had finished, Toldor spoke, "My father is here. You can just leave your stuff here if you want. I'll take you to meet him." They nodded their assent then followed him out of the small house. "Hello father, this is…" he paused, redfaced in embarrassment. "Murtagh," he pointed to Murtagh, "and I am Roran," he said with a grin. "Nice to meet you. I am Hargal. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the father, Hargal asked. "Father, they say they are cousins of mine, is this true?" Toldor asked, before either Roran or Murtagh could answer. "I don't know, perhaps," he answered his son. "How are we kin?" he asked, addressing the question to Roran and Murtagh. Roran spoke first. "My father was Garrow," he said. "Was?" Hargal asked. Roran nodded somberly, "He died not much more than two years ago." "I'm sorry to hear that. We weren't close, but he was still my brother. And you?" "My mother was Selena. She died 16 or 17 years ago," Murtagh explained. "That's a shame. So, did you come all this way just to meet us, or did you come for something else as well?" Murtagh and Roran exchanged glances before Murtagh spoke. "You see, we are dragon riders and we believe your son could be one too."


End file.
